Utilizing Computational Materials Design in the Development of Iron-Based Alloys for Hardfacing

Overlay welding using e.g. PTA or laser cladding is a technique commonly used to hardface components exposed to wear. State of the art materials for these applications are nickel-based alloys with tungsten carbide particles embedded. Iron-based materials offer a cost effective alternative with lower environmental impact. The iron-based system offers different challenges compared to the nickel-based system in terms of hard phase formation and stability upon processing. To be able to optimize composition and fulfil final application properties, microstructure evolution during processing needs to be understood and predicted. This paper focuses on computational materials design using thermodynamic calculations applied to multicomponent systems to optimize alloy compositions. Applying computational techniques allows investigation of a number of alloys, several orders of magnitude larger than what is possible experimentally. The method is used to generate large datasets, on which e.g. multivariate and statistical modeling is applied to find composition regions fulfilling final application performance requirements. In this study, the method has been used specifically to optimize properties of PTA welded and laser cladded iron-based hard phase reinforced coatings for applications requiring resistance to abrasive and impact wear.